


Frightfalls—Brain Fort

by droosy



Category: Frightfalls, Gravity Falls
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-17
Updated: 2014-08-17
Packaged: 2018-02-13 14:53:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2154696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/droosy/pseuds/droosy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wendy starts to feel useless as she, Soos, Dipper and Mabel build a blanket fort.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Frightfalls—Brain Fort

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place in the Frightfalls AU, where Dipper is a werewolf and Mabel is a vampire. I'm posting this for my followers on the Frightfalls tumblr, who have had the benefit of some emotional context. It might be hard to get as much out of it if you're coming into this AU blind, but feel free to give it a shot!

 

Wendy took another bite of her apple and leaned against the doorway to Soos’ break room. “So what are you building in here?”

 

“It’s—I forget what they called it,” said Soos. “Some kind of, um…”

 

“’Scuse me,” said Mabel, walking into the room with a banner that read BRAIN FORT in big, sparkly letters.

 

“Oh!” exclaimed Soos. “A mind palace!”

 

“No, that’s stupid,” said Dipper, who was only half-paying attention. With a solemn expression, he selected a marker and continued writing very judiciously on the sheet of stationery he’d gotten from Mabel, the one with the pictures of pies all over it.

 

“Dipper! Cap the markers when you’re done with them!” scolded Mabel as she became increasingly tangled in her homemade banner. She bent down, crinkling, to properly place the caps on the markers, and connected them, cap-to-end, in a long chain. “How else are you gonna make… _Super Marker?_ Hyah!” She bopped her brother with it, sending the markers flying. “Aw, nuts,” she said, and went to pick them up.

 

Dipper was nonplussed. “Where’d you get that big paper from?” he asked.

 

Mabel threw the banner over her shoulder like a feather boa. “Oh, this old thing?” she said, mock-haughtily. “It’s old printer paper, back from when computers were just cubes with green words on ’em. See, it’s got these weird little holes on the sides!”

 

“You guys need help?” asked Wendy.

 

“…two, three, four…” muttered Mabel, counting the perforations. She turned toward Wendy. “Yeah, OK! You can work with Soos and Dipper on the blueprints.”

 

Her brow furrowed, Wendy tried her best to look nonchalant as she sat down to join them. “Great,” she said, flatly, “This is gonna be cool.”

 

“Can I have your apple core?” Dipper asked her. In spite of herself, Wendy gawked.

 

⁂

 

“…one-thirty-seven, one-thirty-eight…”

           

“OK, here’s what we have so far,” said Dipper, laying out four sheets of pie stationery two-by-two. Across the top he had written BRAIN FORT (AKA FT. EANA) (AKA FLUFFINGHAM PALACE) (AKA WAX STAN MEMORIAL RUMPUS ROOM AND NAPATORIUM) —PLANS.

           

“Hah, how many names does this thing have?” said Wendy.

           

“One-forty-four!”

           

“What?”

           

“There’s one hundred and forty-four of these little holes in the banner,” said Mabel. “What are we talking about?”

           

“Over here,” said Dipper, looking for all the world like a little general mapping out battle formations, “we have the load-bearing pillows. In the long run, we probably want something more permanent—we’ll get tired of the pun eventually. These pillows support the east and west wings. Which, those are just names, I actually have no idea what cardinal direction we’re actually facing. I wanna say…southeast-ish?

           

“Next, we have the more permanent part of the installation. Soos is going to hang these two sheets by the rafters so that they form kind of a tent. And there’ll be hooks so that you can bring the sheets back up towards the ceiling in case Soos ever wants to dismantle the fort.”

           

“Dude, _never_ ,” said Soos. “Wax Stan Memorial fort-ever! Up top, hambone.”

           

“Whoa-oh!” said Mabel, giving Soos a high five. “Fort puns! Instant classic.”

           

“And here we’ve got three bigger sheets strung up like hammocks, overlapping each other to make a sort of roof. This is like the den area.”

           

“Or the breakfast nook!” offered Mabel.

           

“The big tent is a communal space, and the other part is more for sleeping or reading or quiet stuff like that. I’m thinking we should have some kind of collapsible divider between the two. Like a… a down comforter, maybe?”

           

“What are the east and west wings for?” asked Wendy.

           

“The east wing is my room. Only I’m allowed in there,” Mabel explained. “Dipper gets the west wing because that’s his favorite show and he’s a dork.”

           

“Nuh- _uh_ ,” Dipper protested. “ _The Newsroom_ is my favorite show.”

           

“I think I understand how this’ll work,” said Mabel. “I just wish your explanation had pictures.”

           

“Wh—it _has_ pictures,” said Dipper indignantly, gesturing toward his drawing. "What does this look like to you?”

           

“A weird bird?” said Mabel. “A hippo mouth?”

           

“A campsite, haunted by the ghosts of old pies,” said Wendy.

           

“Man, never mind,” grumbled Dipper. “Soos, where did you put that little box of drapery hooks?”

           

“ _Oh_ , it’s a picture of a _helicopter_ ,” said Soos. “Wait, I get it now.”

           

“Oh my god.”

 

⁂

           

“I brought some more blankets,” said Soos as he stumbled in, the jumble of comforters and duvets in his arms making him appear more cotton than man. “These are all the ones from my grandma’s house, even the primo-fancy guest linens. Scope that thread count, bro.”

           

Mabel ran her hand across the sheet. “It’s like a hug made out of dreams,” she whispered reverently.

           

“Won’t your grandma, like, need those?” asked Dipper.

           

“Dude, my grandma _never_ sleeps,” Soos laughed. “Like, ever.” He paused for a moment. “She’s the best.”

           

“Ayo, dinguses!” said Wendy, sauntering into the room with a six-pack of cola. “Wait, what’s the plural of dingus?”

           

“Dingoes?” said Soos.

 

“Dingii,” said Mabel.

 

“Well, whatever you’re called, you’re all gettin’ pop,” said Wendy. “Heads up, kid!” She threw one to Dipper. He successfully caught the can, which blew up in his face the second he opened it.

 

“Eesh! Nice catch, though,” said Wendy, a bit mischievously. “Mabel, I’m going to lob this one over to you nice and easy. Ready?”

 

“N–no,” said Mabel, stretching a fleece blanket out in front of the couch. “Wendy, I can’t drink that anymore. Remember?”

 

“Oh,” said Wendy. “Oh, yeah. Geez, I’m really sorry. I can get you, like, a water instead, if you—”

 

“That’s OK,” Mabel said quickly. “Don’t worry about it, all right?”

 

Wendy swallowed hard. Biting her lip, she looked over at Dipper. “Really sorry about that, buddy,” she said.

 

He gave her a vague nod and a shaky smile that was more of a grimace.

 

“Aw, don’t get so shaken up,” Wendy laughed, lightheartedly. “Hey, hope I didn’t bring out the wolf in you.”

 

Dipper’s hands started to tremble. “Uh—” He was stuck in a contorted position, his bent arms jutting out in front of him. “Y–you did, actually,” he croaked.

 

“What’s that?” Wendy said through a forced friendly smile, hoping she hadn’t heard him correctly.

 

“Mmn,” Dipper grunted. “This isn’t good, I gotta—“

 

All the lights in the room dimmed momentarily. When they stuttered back to life, Dipper was gone.

 

Wendy was still rubbing her eyes when she heard Mabel and Soos run out of the room, calling after Dipper. “Wait,” she said, much more quietly than she had intended. “Wait, guys, I can help!”

 

She felt like she was running through water. “Dipper, where are you?” she yelled out, an unfamiliar sharp feeling in her throat. “Dipper!”

 

“We got him,” said Mabel. Wendy whipped around to see the three of them at the other end of the hallway. Soos, carrying Dipper like a fuzzy baby, waved the boy’s paw at her.

 

Wendy’s head was still pounding with the sound of her heartbeat, but there they were, unharmed and smiling like nothing had happened. She had barely searched for him; she had barely run a few yards, but her breaths were loud and uneven.

 

“Come on, Wendy, let’s get back to work!” chirped Mabel.

 

“Mabel, hey, check this out,” said Soos, hoisting Dipper into the air. “Circle of life, dude!”

 

“Oh, Soos!” Mabel laughed. “You are an absolute treasure.” Dipper whined.

 

“Oh, you don’t like that?” said Soos. “Down you go. OK.”

 

Wendy pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, hoping no one noticed how red her face was.

⁂

 

It took a while before Wendy could bring herself to say anything.

           

“Uh, so,” she finally stammered, shaking the Dorito crumbs out of an old comforter. “Does he—is it, like, _liquid_ that triggers him, or…? Ha, dumb question, I know, but—”

           

“Oh, no,” said Mabel. “No, it can be anything, really.”

           

Wendy wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Uh-huh,” she said, feigning indifference. “So it’s totally random.”

 

“Not at all,” said Mabel. “I know it doesn’t look like there’s a lot of sense to it, but trust me, there is. It’s like—very specific emotions, maybe? Uh, helplessness, embarrassment, I don’t know. I’m not sure how to describe it, and anyway, I can’t speak for him.”

 

Mabel got up on a stepstool to hang a periwinkle sheet with a snowflake pattern. Wendy looked over at Dipper, who was dancing excitedly around Soos’ legs as Soos drilled a hole in a ceiling beam, his ears back and the whites of his eyes showing.

 

“It wasn’t your fault, Wendy,” said Mabel at length. “Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

 

“I’m not,” said Wendy, a little too quickly. She looked down at her feet. “I’m not,” she murmured.

⁂

 

Mabel pulled open the curtains. “The sun is setting!” she announced. She squinted out at the red-violet sky. “Yeah, set, you dumb sun. You’re some other time zone’s problem now.”

 

Dipper padded over to the couch and clambered up next to Mabel. “Aww, he’s watching the sun set too!” she said. “He thinks he’s—”

 

The lights flashed again, and Dipper was once more human.

 

“—people,” Mabel finished flatly. “Dipper, hooray! Just in time to help us finish Fluffingham Palace.”

 

“All right, Dipper, you’re back!” said Wendy.

 

“Well, I never really left,” Dipper replied with a firm smile. Wendy scratched the back of her neck.

 

Soos walked over, eating a pretzel stick. “Nice one, dude,” he teased. “You got yourself out of work for two whole hours this time!”

 

Mabel laughed. “Next time you should just fake having stomach flu,” she said. “It works for you in gym class!”

 

“Ha ha, shut up, man,” Dipper muttered good-humoredly.

 

“Turning into a wolf to get out of work,” Wendy chimed in. “Boy, I wish _I_ could do that.”

 

Dipper gave a polite chuckle. “Yeah…” he mumbled. “Well.”

 

Wendy turned away to drape an old quilt over a chair.

⁂

 

“This is nice,” said Wendy. “Real classy, you guys. High fives all around.”

 

The finished Brain Fort was a haze of gauzy pinks, lilacs, and baby blues. It wasn’t recognizable at all as Soos’ break room—it looked more like a treehouse built in the clouds, or the inside of a seashell. Strings of paper lanterns cast a buttery glow onto the blankets, and the dim natural light painted everyone’s skin rose gold.

 

They had carpeted the floor with oddly-shaped scraps of fake fur, faded beach towels, carpet samples, and one hook rug depicting a softly-colored pastoral scene that Soos’ grandma hadn’t finished in time for Easter.

 

They had gathered up all the pillows they could find, everything soft—Mabel was hugging her plush tiger tightly, and Soos was trying to see how many stuffed animals he could balance on his shoulders.

 

Mabel and Dipper had brought in their favorite personal totems: dog-eared old magazines, well-loved books, colorful bottles of sand, brilliant jars of glitter. Soos had brought down a lava lamp, but it wasn’t moving yet.

 

Wendy had wanted to contribute something, even another old blanket, but almost everything she had, she couldn’t spare, and everything she could spare, she would have to hand down to her brothers. Wendy sighed.

 

“Look, Waddles matches!” said Mabel softly. The pig really did blend in with his surroundings, not just because of his light pink hue, but in the way his belly rose and fell as he slept. The window was open, and the blankets swayed in the breeze, in sync with the pig’s slow, dreamy breaths.

 

“Would you look at that,” said Dipper.

 

“Guys, guys, check it out!” said Soos, the stuffed animals tumbling off his shoulders as he turned. “They—oh. Oh, shoot, never mind. That was, like, six animals, though. Personal best.”

 

“So, what possessed you guys to build this place?” said Wendy. “It’s amazing.”

 

Dipper stopped biting his nails and rested his hands on his knees. “It’s supposed to be like a safe haven,” he said. “For when I’m feeling weird or down, or when Mabel starts to freak out. You know? That’s why we settled on ‘Brain Fort’ for the name—it’s a place you can go to ease your mind, to help your brain recover.”

 

“It’s helping already,” said Mabel serenely. She was smiling—a beautiful smile, like she was in the middle of a pleasant dream. Her hair was blowing gently in the wind, and Wendy knew nothing she could ever do would make Mabel as happy and peaceful as she looked right then.

 

“Good,” said Wendy. “That’s good, because I—” She couldn’t stop the tears this time. “I can never help you in that way.”

 

Mabel placed a hand on Wendy’s knee. “Wendy…”

 

“Wendy, it’s fine, just—please don’t cry,” said Dipper. “Please, Wendy.”

 

“Look at me,” said Soos. “What’s happening?”

 

“It’s—ugh,” croaked Wendy, partially regaining composure. “I know it’s been rough for you these past few months. I know. And watching you two suffer, watching you panic, and never being able to help, always being an arm’s length away—I feel powerless, you know? Like…I can never do anything to help you because it’s so far out of my control. And I _want_ to help you, I want you to feel better, because you’re my friends, but I—I can’t. I can’t help you.”

 

Wordlessly, Mabel took Wendy’s hand. Mabel’s hand was so much smaller, so much steadier, so much stronger—Wendy could only look away.

 

“Ha ha, oh man. Guys, I’m sorry to get all girly on you,” she scoffed, the tears still falling. “It’s just been building up and building up and I guess I got carried away.”

 

“Don’t apologize,” said Mabel.

 

“Yeah, and don’t feel guilty,” said Dipper. “I mean it. Because you have nothing to be guilty for, and because guilt isn’t helpful.” He touched Wendy’s arm gently. “It doesn’t make us feel better and it only makes you feel worse. OK?” He looked down at his hands again. “As it is you’re just getting inside your own head.”

 

“I know, I know. You’re right,” said Wendy as the tears dried on her cheeks. “Ha, man _,_ it really says something that a twelve-year-old boy is more emotionally stable than me.” She and Dipper laughed.

 

“And Wendy, you are helping, dude,” said Soos. “You helped them build this sick-awesome tent, you’re chilling with them as a friend—you’re helping a lot just by being there, like, _physically_ there, even. Just by being their friend and being available.” He smiled. “That’s all most of us can do.”

 

Wendy smiled back. “Thanks, Soos.”

 

“You _guys!_ ” Mabel sobbed theatrically. “This is a moment here. We’re having a _moment!_ Group hug, come on, I’m feelin’ it.”

 

“No,” said Dipper. “Definitely not.”

 

“All right, just me, Wendy, and Soos, then,” Mabel taunted. “Big fuzzy Dipper-excluding hug on the count of three, guys, let’s do it.” They embraced on three. Wendy was crying again, but for better reasons.

 

Mabel looked over at her brother. “Come on, bring it in,” she said. He rolled his eyes, but he hugged them anyway, as hard as he could.

 

It had been a lovely day.

 

 


End file.
